15 Thanksgiving Activities for Preschoolers and Toddlers

Encourage your child's creativity this upcoming Thanksgiving. Here are some favorite Thanksgiving activities for preschoolers and toddlers.

These kids' Thanksgiving activities are easy, quick, inexpensive to do, and LOADS of fun! Make your Thanksgiving memorable for the little ones with some of these must-try Thanksgiving activities for toddlers and preschoolers!

Some of these activities have a free printable PDF you can download so you don't have to search for paper turkeys in stores. You're welcome! And enjoy!

Pin the Feather on the Turkey Activity

Try this Thanksgiving twist to a classic birthday party game. All you need is construction paper in various colors to craft a Turkey, black marker for the eyes, and painter’s tape at the back of the feathers so that the kids can pin them to the Turkey.

You can make this turkey game yourself, or get the whole game ready to play for a whopping 6 dollars with free delivery. I'm a busy mom, I know which option I am choosing!!

Adults and kids ALL love this silly Thanksgiving game! 

Nature Walk & Wreath Fall Activity for Toddlers

Spruce up your Thanksgiving décor with a homemade wreath that you made with your child after a nature walk activity!

Give each family member with one plastic bag and get them to collect twigs, bark, pinecones, and fallen leaves along your nature walk. Upon returning home, provide each family member with wreath forms (cut them out from cereal boxes) and tacky glue (it's a little sticker than regular school glue and better for gluing different textures, such as leaves). 

Let your kids get creative with this easy fall craft!

Hey, you can even use my free scavenger hunt for toddlers printable to get started!

Can't get outside because the weather is just not cooperating?? Grab some fake leaves at a crafts store or here on Amazon and make the wreath with those!

Alternatively you can print some Fall leaves here (or click on the picture of leaves below - it will load a printable PDF) and cut them out (you will need TWO copies to make a decent-sized weath!), but this will take you foreverrrrr! Ask me how I know 😉

I recommend finding leaves outside or ordering some to save you the hassle.

Coloring-Book Tablecloth Activity

Kids would LOVE turning the Thanksgiving table into an art canvas - and will certainly keep themselves entertained throughout Thanksgiving dinner! Art paper or kraft paper (such as this large 4-foot wide roll) can be used as the tablecloth - either for the adult table or for the kids table!

I love the kraft roll idea because the brown color goes perfectly with all the Thanksgiving fall harvest colors!

Alternatively, you can print a Thanksgiving-themed placemat and let your kids color and do little activities at the Thanksgiving table! I have a free printable Thanksgiving placemat you can download and print!

Feed the Turkey

This Thanksgiving activity is great for toddlers and preschoolers to work on their math, counting, motor skills, patterns, color identification, and more! This activity requires an old jar and multi-colored fluffy craft balls / craft pom poms.

Simply print out a picture of a turkey and tape it to a jar (or to a quart-size takeout soup container if you don't want your child playing with a glass jar). Then let your child "feed" the turkey with craft pom poms. They can sort by color, line them up in patterns, or count them as they place them into the "turkey" jar.

You can download the PDF with this paper turkey here, so you can print it.

Window Turkey Activity

This Window Turkey Activity will definitely be a hit with the kids - and it’s reusable! All you need to do is to get foam sheets and cut them up in different shapes. Then get the kids to paint the back of the foam shapes, using water, and stick them to the window in the form of a turkey. 

Alternatively, the shapes can be used in the bathtub - here is our foam turkey on the bathroom wall:

Turkey Egg Hunt Activity

Use your remaining plastic eggs from last Easter and let the kids try this Turkey Egg Hunt activity. Add little treats inside the eggs, or little "dares" asking your kids to do silly things when they find the eggs. ("Run like a turkey!" or "make turkey sounds!" or "tell me your favorite Thanksgiving food!")

Turkey Bowling Activity

Get the your little ones to turn orange plastic cups into Turkeys using craft paper, googly eyes, and glue. Set the plastic cups like bowling pins or on top of each other in the shape of a pyramid and let the Thanksgiving bowling begin! 

Want to print these little turkeys to tape to cups? Download the pdf to print it here.

Or have the kids stack up the cups into a pyramid for a great motor skills activity... and then they can knock it down!

Thankful Jar Activity

This is a great activity that can be played each year. Get your child to make and decorate a jar (here I have a fun Valentinte's Day Jar Decorating Craft, but it should give you an idea), then help him or her write down what they’re thankful for. Store the Thankful Jar somewhere safe, and next Thanksgiving bring the jar out and get the kids to read what they wrote for a fun trip down memory lane.

And while kids might not fully appreciate this activity, us mamas will LOVE looking back on this!!